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Chapter 999  Leaving the Clan

"I have no idea."

"You are nothing but a puppet."

"We are not any different."

"I\'m free to do as I desire."

"I might be imprisoned by my father, but you are imprisoned by your hatred toward yours," said Evelina without a change in her expression. "Although indirectly, your father has also affected who you choose to be."

Arthur was silent before his dagger vanished like smoke. Evelina did not seem relieved as she stared at him. Her words cut into his heart because he knew there was some truth to it. Arthur was no longer controlled by his father, but the latter steered him away from helping others, lest he be considered a savior.

"You can leave," said Arthur, surprising Evelina. "Tell your father that the seduction had no effect on me. If he tries something like this again, then I would obliterate his clan from existence."

"I understand," said Evelina as she wore her mask again. Then, she hurried to leave the tent before pausing and turning toward him. "You don\'t seem like a bad person, Seika. However, you seem lost."

"And you seem imprisoned," said Arthur with a smile. "You should leave this place if you don\'t like being here. Nothing will change if you remain in the same place."

"I know," answered Evelina with a nod. "But I have no desire to leave, either." She left after those words, and Arthur could not help but frown. The notion was foreign to him, and he found himself unable to understand her.

"My desire is... to be free," muttered Arthur as he stared at his own calloused hand. No matter how much power he obtains, he needs to break the shackles of the past to be free. "I still have a lot of wisdom to learn."

Arthur no longer had a reason to remain in this tent, and he returned to his room to rest. He had not rested ever since the battle against the black panther, and he expended a lot of mental energy.

***

A new day started inside the tower, and Arthur was walking with Seraphine when Elinor told him two more of his comrades had been found. Sarohan and Whisker were chained when they were found, as it seemed they were snooping around the camp and were caught by the guards.

"...you let them chain you?" asked Arthur with a disappointed gaze that seemed to cut into their hearts. "I understand how Sarohan can be caught, but even you, Whisker?"

"That\'s right, Whisky boy," said Sarohan, who had the same disappointed gaze as Arthur. "I can be caught, but you failed us all!"

"...shut up," said the feline with a growl before he turned toward Arthur. "The second floor has some form of arrays that we were helpless about. There is one around this camp. We were trying to scout the place when we were caught."

"We have a detection array around the camp," said a voice from behind them as the Chief arrived. He seemed pleased with himself as he came forward with confidence. "Since these two are your friends, we would obviously let them go."

Arthur stared at the man for a good few seconds since he never approached them after the incident with his daughter. The man seemed to have treated the matter as a simple rejection rather than a threat. The situation unnerved Arthur.

"I appreciate your cooperation," said Arthur with a polite smile. "However, we would like to leave now. We can look for the last of our friends on our own."

"It is unfortunate to see you leave, but I understand. However, I must ask: what are your plans on the second floor? What are you going to do from now on?"

Arthur could tell that there was an edge to his voice. It made him frown because the shadow in the man\'s eyes was anything but friendly.

"To leave it, obviously," said Arthur with a frown.

"The second floor is a little special. You have to pass it through military merits," said the Chief with a sigh. "There are ten cities on the second floor, and each of them fights for supremacy in war events. If you want to enter the third floor, you have to earn enough merits and be given access by a lord."

"Then, how would you leave this floor?" asked Sarohan as he pulled the chains away after being released. "As I understood it, you guys live in the wild. Is there a reason behind that?"

"We have been banished from the city," said Elinor with sadness. "We either failed to obey the lord or were accused of crimes. Some of us chose to leave to be with people we love," she glanced at her husband. "In any case, we are outsiders who can never enter the third floor."

"There is a way," said Haldor with a serious face. "Those who defeat a lord in battle can become a lord themselves. This is the reason that any challenger entering the second floor enlists in the army. Everyone dreams of participating in a battle where they could take down a lord themselves."

"I understand how it is," said Arthur with a nod. Then, he realized what the Chief wanted. He realized his strength and wanted to gain his favor in case Arthur ever becomes a lord. "So, we must enlist in an army to have that chance?"

"Indeed," said the Chief with a nod as he stepped forward. "Haldor is not banned from entering Xeloria. He will help you enter the city and enlist in the army. Do rely on him for the task!"

"Please do," said Haldor with a bow. "I will guide you into the city and make sure that you know everything before joining the Xelorian army. You can be both mercenary or soldiers, so rest at ease."

Arthur nodded, and the group then followed him to leave the camp. Even as they did, the Chief never ceased watching them. The burning gaze on his back made Arthur wary of what this floor had to offer.

Once the group found themselves outside, Arthur could finally let his mind rest. No one was watching them anymore, and Haldor seemed trustworthy enough. He even struck a friendship with the tall Waiga, who seemed capable of creating conversations out of thin air.

"You seem to distrust the masked man," said Seraphine while the two were leaving. "In truth, he visited my tent late last night. He tried to recruit me to join his clan, but I refused. After that, he left without saying a word."

Arthur was not surprised by his attempt since he had already tried to seduce him using his daughter. What worried him was that the Chief let them go without any problems. He even offered a final help despite making Arthur join the ranks of his enemy.

"Remain vigilant. I expect problems from this floor," said Arthur with a frown. "Human hearts get twisted to survive. If lords are the only way to pass this floor, we either have to serve one or take them down."

"I have no issues with the latter," said Seraphine with a grin. "We want to take everything in our way down, right? This is how it\'s going to be until

 we reach the end."

"Hopefully as soon as possible," said Arthur, reminded that each day in this place was an hour outside. He wanted his absence to be minimal, even though he trusted that the situation in Runera would be stabilized by his commanders.

Haldor guided them out of the wilderness until they saw the walls of Xeloria again. It seemed like an ancient city, with a palace sitting in its center. Arthur saw that the walls had been restored somehow, even though the dragon destroyed them yesterday.

"The three conditions to enter the cities are as follows: the person is not banished, unaffiliated with other cities, or has a spying skill that negates the previous two conditions. Once you enter, you are registered as a resident."

"Does everyone need to fight for the city?"

"Not at all," said Haldor with a shake of his head. "A city cannot survive with only warriors. Although the only way to pass this floor is by military merits, most people are happily spending their lives working in other professions. I used to…"

Haldor cut off his sentence midway, as if his tongue slipped. Arthur realized that he must have lived in Xeloria before leaving it, where he used to have a job of his own there.

"We fought against the army yesterday," said Arthur with a frown. "Can we enlist without them finding out about that incident?"

"We can never be sure," said Haldor with a shake of his head. "Since the incident happened outside the city, nothing is certain. Have you injured any of them?"

"We rather saved them," said Seraphine with a smirk. "If they have reported us to their lords as criminals, we can have an excuse to take down the entire city."